Oswego East High School students named 2022-2023 National Merit Scholarship competition semifinalists

Oswego School District 308 recently announced that Oswego East High School students Arjun Ramesh, Nicholas Rondon and Aanya Roy have been named as semifinalists in the 2022-23 National Merit Scholarship Corporation Program.

About 1.5 million high schools across the country enter National Merit Scholarship Program each year. To qualify for the program, students must take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which serves as an initial screening of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

These academically talented national semifinalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring.

From about 16,000 semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level, and in February they will be notified of this designation. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of finalists. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin or religious preference.

Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by about 400 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in spring 2023. Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis. About 950 corporate-sponsored merit scholarship awards will be provided by about 180 corporations and business organizations for finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located. In addition, about 160 colleges and universities are expected to finance about 3,800 college-sponsored merit scholarship awards for finalists who will attend the sponsoring institution.

In a statement, District 308 extended congratulations to Ramesh, Rondon and Roy on their outstanding accomplishment.